Kalder Adds Energy Efficiencies to Stores Using Analytics

One of Canada’s largest grocery retailers has recently started an operational analytics program with Kalder, a division within Neelands Group Limited.

Kalder has a deep understanding of refrigeration and energy costs in the food retail industry. It provides the technical expertise and analytic software necessary to manage energy-efficient supermarkets.

Sobeys is now realizing the benefits of this expertise at 250-plus stores across Canada that have been connected to Kalder through their IoT software. The stores are being monitored by Continuous Automated data collection and real time analytics.

This allows Kalder to check the refrigeration systems of each Sobeys location, including energy usage, warnings and alerts, as well as each store’s energy efficiency rating.

“This tool gives us a breakdown of each of the systems we are monitoring at these locations, such as racks, condensers, compressors, individual systems and panels if required,” said Chris Huffman, the Energy Services Manager for Neelands. “This is incredibly helpful, as it also has the capability to easily graph data for each of these systems as well as the ability to export the data for further analysis.”

The most common issues experienced at the stores are focused on energy performance and equipment operation, as well as compressor problems and refrigerant losses in the system. Any of these situations trigger automated alerts that go directly to Sobeys.

The Sobeys stores in the Kalder program are located across all of Canada, excluding the Territories.

Kalder has also performed case studies with other leading grocery retailers in the past, including Longo’s and Costco.

For example, a Longo’s in Brampton cut its annual energy consumption by 26% (a decrease of 182,000 kWh in one year) after participating in a Kalder project. A Costco Wholesale in Brentwood, Tennessee posted a 42% increase in annual dollar savings after the Kalder systems were installed.